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Anchor Beard – The Complicated Style Made Easy!

December 7, 2016

Anchor beard is a combination of several facial hair styles and techniques. It comprises of facial hair in the shape of a nautical anchor; the one that holds the ship stable at sea. This is achieved by growing out a moustache. It is a style that compulsorily requires the perfect pencil moustache to complete the anchor shape. This makes it one of the dreaded styles that most men don’t even try. Well, it is most definitely not a style that you should opt for if you have absolutely no experience with trimming and styling your facial hair, but if you have given it a shot several times and tried on some styles like a goatee or a chin strip or a circle beard, then you can most definitely master this skill.

This is a style that suits men with square or even oval face structures. If you have a round or a wide chin, this style is for you. It makes your chin look sharp and angular as well as covers up much of the width making your chin look narrow and pointy. Thus, although men with other face structures can try this look, men with narrow chins or jawlines should avoid this style. It is not worth the effort that the style demands!

Now let us start with the moustache. You will require a basic pencil moustache to start with. You can make the look more attractive with a handlebar moustache but that makes the task even more difficult. So you may start with a basic pencil moustache or go for a handlebar based on your preference. Pencil moustache is named so because it is a thin pencil like line over your upper lip separating at the center to move into opposite direction. The most important trick to remember here is that this moustache is closer to the nose than it is to the lips. This means that there is a bit more gap between the moustache and the upper lip than there is between the moustache and the nose. If you wish to go for the handlebar moustache, you need to start off by growing out a slim moustache again. Handlebars need not necessarily be thin but the anchor beard suits well for thin moustaches! So you start off by curling both ends upwards by oiling it in an upward curled direction. Trim off the excess hair that grows around both corners of your lips. The natural growth direction is downwards so once you start curling upwards, the excess hair will have to be trimmed off. The original look comprises of a pencil moustache.

Now let’s get to the beard. You should start off with your sideburns. Your sideburns should be medium to short length for this look. Next, you should have a chin strap and goatee or a circular beard structure to begin with. Basically your jawline should be bearded. Also, the chin area should have a nice length of say 2mm at least.

Now take your trimmer at the center of your lower lip and follow the steps given below:

1) Locate the center of your beard right below the center of your lower lip.

2) Take your trimmer just a tad bit to the right. Make sure just a tad because this part should be slim. Now in a smooth motion, practice drawing out a wave in air right above the actual beard. Make smooth movements again and again till you feel confident and then trim out in the same wave.

3) Repeat the same on the left

Now you must remember that the center of your anchor that joins your lower lip to your chin should be the slimmest portion that widens as it moves upwards and widens even more as it moves downwards to meet the chin.

A cool tip for beginners is to try a fatter anchor beard. That way if you mess up you still have the chance of slimming it down. The waves that join the lower lip with the chin are the hardest. You can trace out the beard on a thick cardboard and then place it over your beard. Use your trimmer to trim off around the cardboard cutout. You can also place the cardboard on your face and use clear shaving gel to trace out the part of beard that needs to be shaved off. Then just use a razor or trimmer along the edges of the gel. You will not get the perfect shape but it will be easier to work with this by just trimming it into a sharper edged beard than starting off blindly. Finishing touches will be the only aspect to master.